HQplayer 4 and Mac-mini M1

[camott]

@Miska one further question for you. guass-xla takes slightly longer to process 1x 44.1 -> 1.411 than it does for Nx 192 > 1.536 in my benchmark tests. i.e. 1x has just slightly heavier load. All else equal (same track etc). Why is this? I had thought that the same filter for 1x was a lot faster than Nx (and thus why you have separate 1x vs Nx settings). But in this case the pattern doesn't hold. Is this particular to gauss filters or ???

[Miska]

11 minutes ago, camott said:

@Miska one further question for you. guass-xla takes slightly longer to process 1x 44.1 -> 1.411 than it does for Nx 192 > 1.536 in my benchmark tests.

 

Because in former case the conversion ratio is higher while both produce practically same output rate.

 

11 minutes ago, camott said:

i.e. 1x has heavier load. Why is this? I had thought that the same filter for 1x was a lot faster than Nx (and thus why you have separate 1x vs Nx settings). But in this case the pattern doesn't hold. Is this particular to gauss filters or ???

 

That is not the reason for separate filters. But the reason is that for hires material you may want different kind of filter.

 

[camott]

1 hour ago, Miska said:

That is not the reason for separate filters. But the reason is that for hires material you may want different kind of filter.

 

Ok thanks. I guess I was confused because often it seems like people use ext3 for 1x and ext2 for Nx, which I assumed was for performance reasons. Or maybe it's different for PCM -> DSD.

[Miska]

1 minute ago, camott said:

Ok thanks. I guess I was confused because often it seems like people use ext3 for 1x and ext2 for Nx, which I assumed was for performance reasons. Or maybe it's different for PCM -> DSD.

 

ext3 is steeper while ext2 is gentler. And for PCM -> DSD it is indeed different for the two stage cases in terms of CPU load too.

 

Hires generally has more frequency space at top end for gentler filters. Also ADC side anti-alias filters are typically gentler for hires rates.

 

[camott]

8 minutes ago, Miska said:

ext3 is steeper while ext2 is gentler. And for PCM -> DSD it is indeed different for the two stage cases in terms of CPU load too.

 

Hires generally has more frequency space at top end for gentler filters. Also ADC side anti-alias filters are typically gentler for hires rates.

 

Right, I do understand the desire/need for sharper/steeper filters for redbook vs hi-res. 

 

So bear with me ... but would the same ext3/ext2 argument apply to gauss-long and gauss-xla filters as well? one might want gauss-xla extra long/steep filter for 1x but could get away with gauss-long for Nx?

[Miska]

2 hours ago, camott said:

So bear with me ... but would the same ext3/ext2 argument apply to gauss-long and gauss-xla filters as well? one might want gauss-xla extra long/steep filter for 1x but could get away with gauss-long for Nx?

 

Yes, excatly. That is what I'm having right now on one of my servers.

 

[camott]

27 minutes ago, Miska said:

Yes, excatly. That is what I'm having right now on one of my servers.

 

 

Ok. And do you use gauss-long for Nx because it sounds better with the shorter filter or because of performance issues with PCM -> DSD SDM process with gauss-xla? (or put another way, is there a sonic cost for using an unnecessarily long/steep filter on hi-res?).

[Miska]

37 minutes ago, camott said:

Ok. And do you use gauss-long for Nx because it sounds better with the shorter filter or because of performance issues with PCM -> DSD SDM process with gauss-xla? (or put another way, is there a sonic cost for using an unnecessarily long/steep filter on hi-res?).

 

I generally don't select algorithms because of performance issues, I always select based on sound and objective characteristics.

 

Performance issues are usually solved by using fast enough hardware. If something doesn't work -> buy more powerful hardware.

 

[semente]

On 6/4/2021 at 2:52 AM, MikePid said:

I transferred the HQP license, and now have it set to DSD256, with ASDM5EC, and ext3 for 1x.  Wow!  Jussi hit it out of the park with this on the M1.  75% CPU with no stutters

 

I was expecting more from the M1.

 

I'm getting 78% CPU from my 4-core i3 2018 Mac mini DSD256, ASDM5EC, ext3 for 1x, ext2 for nX.

Fan's running at around 1900RPM, silent at the listening spot.

[camott]

So I got an M1 to do some tests. Somewhat disappointing compared to other benchmarks as @Miska had mentioned.

 

gauss-xla upsampled to 1.536 PCM into null output took 4:46 to process a 4:55 file. No doubt with the overhead of a real DAC attached and some PEQ thrown in and Roon also running in the background, there will be dropouts. Auto/adaptive multicore vs enabled doesn't make a difference on the M1 as there are only 4 power cores to begin with. So the M1 is going back to Apple. Hopefully they soon replace the top-tier intel Mac Mini with an M1X version with at least more power cores - that should allow for auto/adaptive to use 2 more cores and improve the performance a bit, which might be enough to meet my needs. I don't think M2 with faster cores is coming out until next year. Booooo ....

[Miska]

M1 is best compared to other ultra-mobile CPU offerings, like Intel's U-series Core CPUs (used on various NUC models too).

 

No doubt Apple will have a bigger desktop scale CPU at some point. I just hope they can do it without cutting a lot on the CPU clock speeds. So a single core would need to be at least as fast as M1's performance cores. Otherwise EC modulators at DSD256 speeds are not possible.

 

 

[caesee]

On 7/24/2021 at 2:47 AM, Miska said:

M1 is best compared to other ultra-mobile CPU offerings, like Intel's U-series Core CPUs (used on various NUC models too).

 

No doubt Apple will have a bigger desktop scale CPU at some point. I just hope they can do it without cutting a lot on the CPU clock speeds. So a single core would need to be at least as fast as M1's performance cores. Otherwise EC modulators at DSD256 speeds are not possible.

 

 

I try to add a minidsp usb streamer to a m1 mac mini,Every time I set input device as usb streamer but change to default after i close settings windows

[Miska]

23 hours ago, caesee said:

I try to add a minidsp usb streamer to a m1 mac mini,Every time I set input device as usb streamer but change to default after i close settings windows

 

Does it still work anyway?

 

[BrownMagic]

 

I tried Sinc MX at 1.5M using my 2018 Macbook Pro. 2.7 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7. I tried all buffer settings (10 to 250 ms) but still the music was stuttering. It would play for 10 seconds and then pause for a second and then continue. Like it was buffering. I had the same problem even at 786 but slightly better. The NAA is a mini pc running HQP on Linux. Using Roon as the front end. Any settings to be changed on Roon?

 

Can someone confirm if my macbook pro is just under powered for this filter? Or is there some other problem. Using a May Dac 's USB connection. 

[Miska]

5 hours ago, BrownMagic said:

I tried Sinc MX at 1.5M using my 2018 Macbook Pro. 2.7 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7. I tried all buffer settings (10 to 250 ms) but still the music was stuttering. It would play for 10 seconds and then pause for a second and then continue. Like it was buffering. I had the same problem even at 786 but slightly better. The NAA is a mini pc running HQP on Linux. Using Roon as the front end. Any settings to be changed on Roon?

 

Can someone confirm if my macbook pro is just under powered for this filter? Or is there some other problem. Using a May Dac 's USB connection. 

 

Leave "Buffer time" as default.

 

Not visible in the picture, but is "Multicore DSP" set to grayed (auto) setting?

 

[BrownMagic]

@Miskai have a bigger problem. HQP won’t open. It just freezes with the Colorfull ball rotating on the Mac. I’ve tried restarting the computer. The dac and the NAA device. But still no luck. Also tried a reinstall of HQP but still the same. 
 

 

[Miska]

2 hours ago, BrownMagic said:

@Miskai have a bigger problem. HQP won’t open. It just freezes with the Colorfull ball rotating on the Mac. I’ve tried restarting the computer. The dac and the NAA device. But still no luck. Also tried a reinstall of HQP but still the same.

 

You can rename or delete file settings.xml from folder "~/.hqplayer" to reset HQPlayer settings back to defaults.

 

[BrownMagic]

34 minutes ago, Miska said:

You can rename or delete file settings.xml from folder "~/.hqplayer" to reset HQPlayer settings back to defaults.

Thanks. This helps. 

 

3 hours ago, Miska said:

Not visible in the picture, but is "Multicore DSP" set to grayed (auto) setting?

Yes it is grayed. I also grayed the Cuda. Just to clarify I am not using the Mac Mini M1. I am trying it on my mac 2018 macbook pro core i7.

 

[jcn3]

2 hours ago, BrownMagic said:

Thanks. This helps. 

 

Yes it is grayed. I also grayed the Cuda. Just to clarify I am not using the Mac Mini M1. I am trying it on my mac 2018 macbook pro core i7.

 

 

i would uncheck the cda offload -- this is for situations with a dedicated sound card.

[AudioDoctor]

17 minutes ago, jcn3 said:

i would uncheck the cda offload -- this is for situations with a dedicated sound card.

 

Graphics card, specifically Nvidia.

[jcn3]

On 8/5/2021 at 12:55 PM, AudioDoctor said:

 

Graphics card, specifically Nvidia.

Yep, meant graphics card!

[Miska]

I should hide the CUDA option in recent macOS versions, because it doesn't have any effect on macOS anymore (Apple and Nvidia have discontinued support for this).

 

[BrownMagic]

@Miskais there any setting that I need to change on my mac? Everyone I ask is saying that a 2018 intel i7 should have no trouble with 1.5m pcm. So it looks a Mac OS problem. Can you suggest any changes that I need to do on my mac’s settings?

[Miska]

On 8/8/2021 at 5:43 PM, BrownMagic said:

@Miskais there any setting that I need to change on my mac? Everyone I ask is saying that a 2018 intel i7 should have no trouble with 1.5m pcm. So it looks a Mac OS problem. Can you suggest any changes that I need to do on my mac’s settings?

 

It all depends on your filter selection. Try first with for example regular poly-sinc-lp and see if it works. Just make sure "Multicore DSP" box is set to "grayed" (auto).

 

Since you will need to either use 16-bit output, or a NAA to achieve 1.5M PCM from macOS, it could be a networking or NAA issue as well. If you use UP Gateway and my NAA OS image for the NAA, it should work if the network is fine. But I've already forgotten what kind of NAA you had.

 

[BrownMagic]

On 8/10/2021 at 12:14 AM, Miska said:

t all depends on your filter selection. Try first with for example regular poly-sinc-lp and see if it works. Just make sure "Multicore DSP" box is set to "grayed" (auto).

 

I have the problem in all filter settings. 1.5m wont work. I use an intel celeron mele pc stick as an NAA. It runs linux and has ur NAA image that runs on the mele pc itself. No usb stick or anything. 

On 8/10/2021 at 12:14 AM, Miska said:

If you use UP Gateway and my NAA OS image for the NAA, it should work if the network is fine. But I've already forgotten what kind of NAA you had.

What do u mean by UP gateway? Is that a setting on the Mac? Also when you say network is fine, I am on a 1gbps line. The macbook pro is on wifi but I sit right next to the router. NAA is conneted via ethernet cable. Can you please advise. Thanks